The 8-member panel of inquiry, comprising six lawmakers from the
ruling coalition and two from the opposition, will only be given
limited access to a so-called bilateral no-spy agreement
currently being negotiated with Washington. Access to relevant
documents will be limited as it is considered to be “an ongoing
process” regarding “a core area of government responsibility”
which is constitutionally protected, a senior government official
told the German daily.

It also remains unknown whether the committee will be given
access to documents regarding cooperation between Germany’s
Federal Intelligence Service and its US and British counterparts.
According to the paper, such a step would require the consent of
Germany’s foreign partners.

The no-spy accord itself recently took a hit after German
officials announced there would be no wide-ranging intelligence
sharing agreement between Berlin and Washington in the run up to
a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Barack
Obama on Friday.

During a news conference with Merkel on Friday, Obama said
“there are still some gaps that need to be worked
through” regarding the agreement.

Merkel described those gaps as “differences of opinion” over
“issues, for example, of proportionality and the like.”

“We do not have a blanket no-spy agreement with any
country,” Obama said. “What we do have are a series of
partnerships and procedures and processes that are built up
between the various intelligence agencies.”

Obama, however, attempted to assuage German fears that private
citizens are the target of dragnet surveillance.

“We have shared with the Germans the things that we are
doing,” Obama said. “I will repeat what I’ve said before, that
ordinary Germans are not subject to continual surveillance, are
not subject to a whole range of bulk data-gathering.”

Following revelations that the NSA had been listening to Merkel’s
telephone conversations for over a decade, Obama promised he
would discontinue monitoring her communications. He was
unwilling, however, to give similar assurances to other top
ranking German officials. The fate of an NSA listening station
based in the American Embassy in Berlin also remains unknown.

Meanwhile, on Thursday the German government blocked former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden from
giving personal evidence in front of the parliamentary inquiry
regarding the agency’s surveillance.

In a letter to members of the panel obtained by Süddeutsche
Zeitung, government officials said a personal invitation to the
former NSA contractor would "run counter to the political
interests of the Federal Republic," and "put a grave and
permanent strain" on US-German relations.

German opposition members from the Left and Green party who are
involved in the investigation believe that Snowden is a key
witness and should testify in person. But the CDU believes a
written questionnaire would suffice.

Green party head Simone Peter, accused the chancellor of
kowtowing to the United States.

"Merkel is displaying cowardice towards our American ally,"
she said. "We owe the Americans nothing in this respect. The
government must at least make a serious effort to safely bring
Snowden to Germany and let him give evidence here. But Merkel
doesn't want that."

Another recent report in Spiegel Online warned that members of
the Committee of Inquiry could themselves face legal problems if
they question Snowden, no matter where the location.

According to documents from a Washington-based law firm, the
questioning of “the main culprit” would become a
punishable offense if he were prompted to disclose secret
information.

The parliamentarians could be charged with “theft of state
property” or “conspiracy” if they were ever to step foot on US
soil, regardless of their parliamentary immunity.